Macaranga beccariana Merr., Webbia 7: 315 (1950)

Synonyms
Macaranga hypoleuca var. borneensis Hutch. ex Gibbs

Diagnostics
Small trees up to ca. 20 m tall and 15 cm dbh, reproductive from 3 m tall and 3 cm dbh. Twigs hollow, ant inhabited, glabrous, glaucous, with small ant openings (ca. 1 mm diameter). Stipules triangular, persistent, erect or spreading, 5-20 mm long by 3-7 mm wide. Petioles glabrous, glaucous, up to 38 cm long. Leaves alternate, peltate, 3-lobed, 13-32 cm long by 10-30 cm wide, length/width-ratio 0.75-1.57; secondary veins 8-13, ending in the margin; central lobes 10-23 cm long by 3.8-9 cm wide, lateral lobes 9.5-22 cm long; leaf base rounded, peltate margin length 2-4 cm; leaf margin with glands; leaf upper surface glabrous; leaf lower surface glabrous to rarely hairy on veins, usually glaucous, not to sparsely gland dotted. Staminate inflorescences branched; flowers clustered per bracteole; bracteoles with fimbriate margin. Pistillate inflorescences branched; fruits 5-6 mm wide, 3-locular, each carpel wall with glandular patch.

Description
Tree, 15-17(-20) m tall, with simple architecture of the main trunk and secondary branches only; twigs 7-8 mm in diam., glabrous, densely glaucous, bluish-green, hollow, housing ants. Bark smooth, hoop-marked, often with stipule bases persistent, bluish-green even when mature, glaucous. Stipules elliptic, 9-12 by 2.5-4.5 mm, coriaceous, spreading, not producing food-bodies, all pairs usually persistent on the shoots after leaf fall. Leaves: petioles terete, slender, 10-30 cm long, shorter towards shoot apex, glabrous, glaucous, strongly double pulvinate; blades ovate, 13-30 by 12-20 cm, very deeply and narrowly trilobed, dissected almost to the petiole insertion or 4/5-7/8 of the leaf length, leaf lobes elliptic, 2.5-4 cm wide, +/- equal in size, central lobe slightly constricted near the base and becoming spathulate, lateral lobes slightly asymmetrical and ascending and curved towards the slightly longer central lobe, 2-4 cm peltate, base rounded, margin entire, usually slightly revolute, with small protruding, conical nectaries, apices finely acute to acuminate, adaxial surface glabrous, abaxial surface sparsely villous with fine silvery hairs, densely glaucous; 1st degree venation palmate with 8-10 prominent veins, 2nd degree venation strongly looping and meeting the adjacent veins near the leaf margin, 3rd and 4th degree veins not or only weakly scalariform; young leaves dark red-brown, scattered with long silvery hairs and ferrugineus scaly hairs, producing food-bodies on lower surface. Staminate inflorescences particulate, erect, 7-20 by 5-10 cm, with minute ferrugineus hairs, 3 axis orders, main axis flattened, first pair of secondary branches +/- opposite with accessory branches; bracts elliptic, c. 6 by 2.5 mm, margin entire, apex acute, covered in minute ferrugineus scaly hairs, caducous; flower clusters with c. 10 flowers, decussately arranged and crowded on ultimate inflorescence branches; bracteoles ovate, 3-6 by 3-4 mm, enclosing the flower clusters, margin finely evenly pectinate with 10-16 teeth and the apical one slightly elongated, apex acute, densely covered with minute ferrugineus hairs. Staminate flowers c. 1 mm long, pedicellate; sepals fused, splitting to c. 1/4, apex densely minutely ferrugineus hairy; stamens 1; anthers 4- (rarely 3-)locular. Pistillate inflorescences narrowly paniculate, erect, 5-14 by 2-5 cm, slender, up to 2 axis orders, secondary branches +/- opposite, covered in minute ferrugineus scaly hairs; bracts elliptic, c. 5-7 mm long, entire, covered in ferrugineus hairs, caducous. Pistillate flowers c. 2-3 mm long, solitary in bracteole axils; calyx urceolate, c. 1.5 mm long, minutely ferrugineus hairy, persistent; ovary 3-carpellate, 1-2 mm long; styles c. 1 mm long, free, spreading, persistent; stigma not dissected. Fruits subglobose, 4.5-6 by 5-6 mm, pedicellate, glaucous, bluish green, two discrete glandular patches on each carpel wall developing into slightly raised ridges, covered in bright yellow, sticky exudate; pedicel 5-11 mm long, minutely ferrugineus hairy, strongly glaucous. Seeds +/- spheroidal or slightly flattened, c. 3 mm in diam., black, with large shallow round pits and a small centrally pointed linear scar, encased in a fleshy bright red aril. [from Flora Malesiana]

Ecology
Collected up to ca. 850 m altitude. An early successional tree species, found on disturbed sites in primary forest (gaps) and secondary forest. It appears to have a relatively wide tolerance of soil conditions, occurring on heavily degraded sites as well as on more fertile sites. It is uncommon in flooded or swampy areas.

Distribution
Endemic for Borneo.

Local names